Andy Richardson
Well I really called that one wrong. I was so determined not to buy into the hype that it was going to be an awesome, back and forth classic, that I instead bought into the hype that it would be Peyton Manning's coronation. I thought it would be Niners-Chargers, with Manning calling to mind Steve Young's near-perfect game. Instead it was Packers-Broncos, with the team everyone thought would win another Super Bowl maybe believing it themselves just a little too much.
So where to start with the big game? How about with the pregame show, which I dutifully watched way too much of.
- At one point in the pregame discussions, James Brown felt compelled to explain to viewers that a "nickelback" meant having an extra defensive back on the field. Is this really what we've come to? The people who don't know that don't have the sound on anyway.
- There was some discussion about overtime, and how unfair it was that in the NFC Championship Game only New Orleans got the ball in overtime. I was rooting for the Vikings, but I look at it as, in the final four minutes of regulation, both teams got the ball, and the Saints punted and the Vikings shot themselves in the foot with a penalty and an interception. Why SHOULD both teams get the ball in overtime? Both teams had plenty of chances to just win the game in regulation...right?
- A feature on The Who noted that the band got its start in 1964. That fact alone should have been a sign that maybe them playing the Super Bowl in 2010 was, I dunno, a debatable choice. I like The Who, and at the end of the day, they did fine. But really. Years later, do we still need to pay for that one Janet Jackson-Justin Timberlake incident? Let's get a currently performing act next year. Please.
- Nice Katie Couric sitdown interview with President Obama. Only problem, again, is that I can't think many people actually saw or heard it. If you're at a party, you don't have the sound on for that, right? Interviews with Presidents, 30-minute rock concert halftime shows....I guess I understand it. I just wonder what the point is. We know it's all a big event in which the game itself is just a part and it's a "national holiday" or whatever. But why does it then follow that networks try to cater to the large audience with all this extraneous, non-football stuff. The audience is there anyway. You're not really increasing it by cross-marketing; you're alienating as much of it as you're pleasing; probably more. But I guess we all now know what a nickelback is.
- I thought it was a pretty good National Anthem by Carrie Underwood. My wife noted it would have been awkward if Tony Romo and the Cowboys were there.
- The game began, and there appeared to be some jitters. Catchable ball dropped by Pierre Garcon. Easiest grab in the world clanged off Marques Colston's mitts and face. Lots of missed tackles on running plays -- oh wait, that wasn't jitters, that's just the NFL these days. I waited for my phone to ring so my father-in-law could complain about it. Not this week; most, though.
- I thought the Saints should have kicked the field goal on 4th and goal before the half. They went for it, got stuffed, and I thought they'd really regret it. Instead, they got the ball back, in a sequence that's really underrated after the fact. Colts were just a yard short of picking up a first down, ensuring a 10-3 halftime score and all the momentum.
- Everyone else is writing about the commercials; I won't dwell on them beyond pointing out that there clearly weren't enough monkeys. It was nice to see Lost's Pierre Chang in a Bud Light commercial, however. Favorites here were the house made of Bud Light ("yeah...uh, envi-ro what?") and the Dove for Men commercial. Regarding The Who's halftime show, well, it was too long, but that's what TiVo is for.
- Everyone the onside kick was brilliant. Of course, if the Colts had recovered, which maybe they did (clearly it changed hands once or twice in that pile), and the Colts had gone up 17-6, everyone would be calling it idiocy, "a panic move by Sean Payton!" No guts, no glory. Good for him, but it would have been nice to freeze time when the ball was bouncing again and get everyone's opinion on the call right then. Maybe future technology will allow that: "Text 'Y' if you believe the Saints are doing the right thing here...."
- Saints go on to win, using a terrible Manning interception to ice it. By the same guy who picked Favre in the NFC Championship game. Saints beat a two-time MVP (Warner), three-time MVP (Favre) and a four-time MVP (Manning) to win their Super Bowl. That's impressive.
Final thoughts: We really love to tear down sports heroes, don't we. Before losing to the Saints, it was all about what an amazing year Brett Favre had; after, it was all about the horrific interception that led to the Saints winning; never mind the beating Favre took or the game he'd played until that point. Two weeks later, same deal. It was to be a celebration of Peyton Manning, making his case for the best quarterback in NFL history; instead, it's about him being a goat.
I'm not saying it's necessarily inaccurate. The QBs win the MVPs, get all the commercials, and get most of the credit for huge wins. It's only fair, thus, that they absorb the bulk of the blame when their team loses. It's always been that way, and it always will be.
I can't do it, though. Since the quarterback handles the ball first on every offensive play, he's going to be the guy who makes the mistake, more often than not, if there's one to be made. Because he's the one being asked to win the game, especially in today's NFL, he's also the one who will be on the spot the most during a loss.
Saints win. Colts lose. Peyton Manning is still great. And like every other quarterback, he's human, and the better you are -- the more chances you get to win or lose big games -- the more you'll show it. You can't succeed, or fail, in the NFL's postseason tournament unless you keep getting there, and advancing, time and time again.
When Favre and Manning meet in the Super Bowl a year from now (I know, I know, wishful thinking, but hey it's possible), I guarantee one of them will do it again.
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